Career Counselling and Guidance

List of different types of Jewellery Jobs in India

Shreya Matta

Shreya Matta

May 27, 2022
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One of the most fascinating aspects of the jewelry industry is that there are so many job opportunities and contexts to choose from. Within the industry, there are a few large categories of career options with varying remuneration implications. Here is the brief of different career roles one can begin within the jewelry industry in India, as listed below:

Sales & Marketing Roles | Jewellery jobs

Retail Jewelry Sales 

Working in a jewelry store can be like going to work in a treasure chest. It’s hard work, but it’s also an opportunity to indulge your love of beautiful things. Plus, you’ll get to share in some of your customers’ happiest moments: engagements, important anniversaries, birthdays, and other celebrations.

Sales Oriented Careers

Allied services sales agent: giftware, packaging, display, security, insurance, bookkeeping, etc. – self-explanatory, selling to jewelry stores, subject to the vagaries of the economy.

Sales Staff

Employed by jewelry stores, pay is low to good depending upon the store and skills. A very high-end store will have the best pay scale opportunities. It is a good way to learn something about the business of running a jewelry store, particularly in a smaller business where many jewellery jobs are expected of one.

Diamond Dealer

It helps to have family and connections. This is a specialized field on its own. A sales agent or traveling representative: represents manufacturer’s lines to jewelry stores, pay commensurate with skill and lines chosen. Some room for a self-motivated person.

Stone Dealer

Can be employed and represent a company, often a place for independents. You must like travel and have good skills. Income can be very rewarding.

Jewelry Store Manager

A career in retail management can offer enormous rewards – whether you are running your store, managing a store or a web-based business, or working for a large corporation. Many retail chains promote from within, and success in-store management can lead to career development and more money.

Plater

A short training, an employed position. Some opportunities for independent service work. Requires well marketing skills to find customers but demand is always steady. Few companies outside large cities would have enough work to employ a plater full time.

Fashion Designing Roles | Jewellery jobs

Jewellery Designer

Jewelry designers are usually drawn to their career path by a passion for artistic pursuits and fashion. Someone who designs jewelry through renderings and drawings, models, or even wax originals. May be employed by a company or self-employed. It is not necessary to know how to make the jewelry, just how it is made.

Designers may work with jewelers and store customers to create one-of-a-kind jewellery jobs in India, or they work for manufacturers developing new pieces for the company’s collections. Some designers go on to start businesses, selling designer jewelry under their names.

Artist Jeweler

What Is 'Art Jewelry'? Look at the Term Again. - The New York Times

Itself a wide range of options, this option is for risk-takers who like to think of themselves as artists, who can handle independence and hard work with a long-range view of returns.

There are wide open niches in conceptual work and high-end work. The market in Canada is quite unsophisticated, in Europe it is good, improving in the United States.

Fashion Jeweler

A person who designs and makes jewelry and accessories that dovetail with the fashion industry, lines, colors, time of year and so on. It requires a flair for PR, design, audience understanding, and good business sense. Materials need not be costly with very big returns if done well. For the right person a lucrative career.

Crafts Jewelry Maker

A maker who markets through craft fairs and gallery stores, usually with a line of hand-made, unique, or low production run pieces. This can be anything from a single person to eventually a company employing a hundred people. The context is crafts, and handwork, made by people.

Manufacturing & Production Roles | Jewellery jobs


Bench/Manufacturing Jeweler

A goldsmith who specializes in production work, anything from running a punch press, or a computer milling station (coming soon) to repetitive handwork. Manufacturing jewelers may work in jewelry stores, jewelry manufacturing businesses, or even their studios. Bench jewelers may craft jewelry for their own companies, design custom pieces, or repair intricate jewelry antiques. They share an artistic sensibility and skill for fabrication. It is not usually high-status work.

Custom / Special Order Jeweler

Alan Revere of San Francisco’s Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts describes this niche as ‘including both employed and self-employed people who work directly with the public or within a trade shop. They often interact directly with customers and create one-of-a-kind individualized work for them.

This is a job that combines skills in goldsmithing/wax/model making, design, rendering, psychology, pricing, selling, and negotiating. This too is where some art school-educated jewelers end up as well as goldsmiths. Many continue their education through the quality workshops and short courses offered across North America.

Jewelry Lab Grader/Quality Assurance Technician

If you enjoyed your science classes, consider working in a laboratory as a gem or jewelry grader or for a wholesaler or manufacturer as a quality assurance technician. Most graders spend time identifying and performing quality analyses on diamonds and colored gemstones and providing certificates that assure gemstones and jewelry are of a stated quality.

Goldsmith

Goldsmith can work with any material, knows construction, and can work for someone else making jewelry or for themselves, usually with a broad range of abilities. Can make anything seen in standard jewelry stores. As an independent may market work through own store (best option) or galleries and jewelry stores. High-end markets are possible. An independent single person can gross about 80,000 a year and up with time. An independent goldsmith may be a custom jeweler.

Silversmith

Another almost extinct career but because of that some good options for independent service or original work requires good marketing skills and probably training in Art School. Makes large-scale objects in silver and gold, hollow ware, cutlery, and so on.

Rubber Mold Maker

Usually, an employed position in a factory, with plenty of room for independent service work in small to large cities; requires marketing skills. Some options for mailed service work.

Watchmaker

Careers in Watchmaking

A specialized field. Most watches are now quartz and require only minimal skills to change batteries or movements. True watchmaking is dying out and this means that for a highly motivated skilled watchmaker/goldsmith there are very well-paying opportunities.

Gemologist / Appraiser

What is a Gemologist? How to Utilize Expertise to Select your Perfect - Soha Diamond Co.™

Usually an employed position, some options for independent service work. Training and equipment costs can be high. Diamonds are a specialized sub-section of geology.

Model Maker

A goldsmith specializing in making original metal models. Often an employed position is the highest level of goldsmithing in many ways. Generally linked with larger operations though often goldsmiths are called on to make models in smaller companies. In an independent service career, it is difficult to compete with wax models.

Jewelry Repair Person

Specializes in repairs. Often the best way of starting and learning jewelry skills and the basis of many a successful jewelry business. May be employed by a store or have one’s own service business or retail outlet.

Stone setter

Stone Setting - Jewelry Making - Setting Stones

A secure employed position or a service company for jewelry stores and goldsmiths; a good setter earns very well and is well respected.

Wax Carver

A specialist career requires few tools and is easier in some ways than full goldsmithing training. A good wax carver may be employed or earn fifty dollars an hour or more doing freelance work and commissioned pieces.

Caster

Caster possibilities include employment or a service company. Good prospects for an aggressive small company.

Engraver

Gun Engraver often linked with hand engraving this can be a specialized service work, while Hand Engraver is a definite career option with respect for the work and a lack of competition. This profession now has almost gone. It is not hard to learn, merely requiring a great deal of practice.

A good hand engraver can make a lot of money in service work for the industry because of its rarity. In Calgary, the last city hand engraver offered to train someone for free to take over him-but only a serious, committed hard working person. After several years of fruitless search, he withdrew the offer and retired.

Knife Maker / Cutler

A good one can earn up to 7k-8k for a knife that takes a month to make. Training and practice are usually through blacksmithing or knife groups. Today sometimes called ‘blade smith’. Lots of makers out there, look at knife magazines like ‘Blade’ to see what work has the best return.

Lapidary

Lapidary - The Goldsmiths' Centre

This person may cut cabochon, facetted stones, or carve gem materials. It can range from re-cutting jobs to unique sculptures in carved gems. Some lapidaries develop such a name for themselves that their work is worth many times any material value because of who cut it. Diamond cutting is a special field requiring intensive training. 

Lapidary is one of the highly skilled artisan jobs that is hard to be replaced by AI in the future.

 

Jewelry Instructor

7 Metalsmithing Instructors Who Rock | Jewelry | Interweave

The route would be through art schools and industry experience, long training with some room for employment, and independent service work.

Computer Operator

Coming soon and already here in some places are computer-driven machines that carve wax, build up plastic models, harden plastic models from liquids, and mill steel molds for wax or plastics injection. All of these are intended for casting. There will be an increasing place in the field of gold-smithing and jewelry production for people who understand goldsmith’ing and computers.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the jewellery industry in India is a very lucrative business opportunity with a wide array of job roles and tasks. From designing jewellery to working in the manufacturing process, the list of different types of jewellery jobs in India is endless. It provides an opportunity for people to explore their creative side and hone their craftsmanship skills. Moreover, those looking for employment in this sector can find suitable roles with competitive remuneration packages.

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